Sean Melton, Alec Yoder Advance to NCAA Finals in All-Around

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CHICAGO, Ill. – The fifth-ranked Ohio State men’s gymnastics team finished fourth in the second session of the NCAA Qualifier Friday night at UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Both Nissen-Emery Award winner Sean Melton and Collegiate Gymnastics MVP and Event Specialist of the Year Alec Yoder advance in the all-around to the NCAA Finals at 7 p.m. ET Saturday. The finals will be streamed live on NCAA.com.

Oklahoma won the evening session at 410.991, followed by Illinois at 408.824, Penn State at 404.790 and the Buckeyes at 403.959.

Melton posted an 82.633 to take first in the all-around while Yoder notched an 81.064 to take third. They’ll be joined in the finals by Max Andryushchenko, who posted an 11th-place finish on floor (13.733), Joey Bonanno, who notched a second-place finish on floor at 14.300, Sean Junior Neighbarger, who placed fifth with a 14.333 on vault, and Seth Delbridge, who tied for 13th on parallel bars with a 13.666.

Ohio State began the meet on pommel horse, tallying a 65.399, paced by Yoder’s 14.466 to take second. The Buckeyes then followed on rings, vault and parallel bars, posting totals of 66.266, 70.332 and 69.265, respectively, with the vault score earning a season high. Sean Melton led the Buckeyes with a 14.100 on rings, Neighbarger tallied a team-best 14.333 on vault and Yoder again notched a team-high 14.333 to win parallel bars.

In the fifth rotation, Delbridge posted a team-best 13.400 on high bar as the Buckeyes earned a 63.665. The Buckeyes then rebounded on floor in the final rotation, just falling short of a season-high 69.032, as Melton again led the way with team season-best 14.333 to win the event.